An investigation into students english pronunciation learning at ha tinh university nghiên cứu về việc học phát âm tiếng anh của học sinh ở trường đại học hà tĩnh

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES --- NGUYEN THI THAO AN INVESTIGATION INTO STUDENTS’ ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION LEARNING AT HA TINH UNIVERSITY MA THE

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

-

NGUYEN THI THAO

AN INVESTIGATION INTO STUDENTS’ ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION LEARNING

AT HA TINH UNIVERSITY

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY

OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts,

Hue University of Foreign Languages

HUE, 2016

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

-

NGUYEN THI THAO

AN INVESTIGATION INTO STUDENTS’ ENGLISH

PRONUNCIATION LEARNING

AT HA TINH UNIVERSITY

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY

OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE: 60.14.01.11

SUPERVISOR: PHAM HONG ANH, Ph.D

HUE, 2016

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

-

NGUYỄN THỊ THẢO

NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC HỌC PHÁT ÂM TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH Ở TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÀ TĨNH

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP

DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH

MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11

NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC:

TS PHẠM HỒNG ANH

HUẾ, 2016

i

STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP

The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself

Nguyen Thi Thao

Date: ………

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ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate students’ English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University Specifically, it intends to investigate the reality of English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University and examine students’ perceptions of pronunciation learning as well as of intelligible pronunciation as the target of learning The results of the investigation indicate that there is an increasing awareness of students of their interlocutors in the future and of the existence of different varieties of English in terms of pronunciation However, native-like pronunciation still establishes a dominant position in pronunciation mastery of students in the study because of the firm belief for a standard, prestige and legitimate model of the natives The findings also show students’ understanding of the need to understand and be understood in the context of international communication; therefore, intelligible pronunciation can be realized as a suitable aim in English pronunciation learning for students in the study Finally, the study gives some implications for English pronunciation teaching and learning as well as some recommendations for practice

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Acknowledgements

I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to people who have advised and supported me, and made constructive criticism during the research

Thanks are extended to Dr Pham Hong Anh, my supervisor for her professional guidance and support Without her professional support and encouragement, this thesis could not reach this present standard

I am very grateful to students at Ha Tinh University who helped me to complete the questionnaires and sincerely provided me with valuable information for this research in the interviews

My very special thanks go to the Board of Director, the Library Staff of Hue University of Foreign Languages for their dedicated helps during the time I carried out this research

I wish to express my deep thanks to my parents and friends for all their support as well as motivation during the time I was conducting this project

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP i

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Rationale for the study 5

1.3 The aims and research questions of the study 6

1.4 Significance of the study 7

1.5 Scope of the study 8

1.6 Structure of the thesis 9

CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 10

2.1 Introduction 10

2.2 Background of pronunciation learning 10

2.2.1 Definition of pronunciation 10

2.2.2 The development and current trend of pronunciation teaching and learning in English Language Teaching 12

2.2.3 Teaching and learning pronunciation in Vietnam 17

2.3 Varieties of English in terms of pronunciation 20

2.3.1 Three circles of English 20

2.3.2 Nativeness principle and intelligibility principle 22

2.3.3 Intelligibility and Lingua France Core 24

2.4 Previous studies related to the research 26

2.5 Summary 29

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY 30

3.1 Introduction 30

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3.2 Research approaches 30

3.3 Research context and participants 32

3.3.1 Research context 32

3.3.2 Participants 33

3.4 The design and implementation of data collection instruments 35

3.4.1 Questionnaire 35

3.4.1.1 The design 35

3.4.1.2 The implementation 37

3.4.2 Interview 37

3.4.2.1 The design 37

3.4.2.2 The implementation 38

3.5 Data analysis 39

3.6 Summary 39

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 40

4.1 Introduction 40

4.2 Findings 40

4.2.1 The reality of English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University 40

4.2.2 Students’ perceptions of English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University 43

4.2.3 Students’ perceptions of intelligible pronunciation as the target of learning 55 4.3 Discussion 58

4.3.1 The orientation toward a native-like pronunciation model 59

4.3.2 Intelligible pronunciation as an aim of pronunciation learning 62

4.4 Summary 64

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 65

5.1 Introduction 65

5.2 Summary of the answers of the research questions 65

5.3 Implications 66

5.3.1 For pronunciation teaching and learning 66

5.3.2 Recommendations for practice 68

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5.3.3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 70

REFERENCES 71

APPENDIX 1 80

APPENDIX 2 84

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LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

LIST OF TABLES

3.1 General profile of participants 34 4.1 Frequency of the use of English 42

LIST OF CHARTS

4.1 The kind(s) of English pronunciation being taught at

school

41

4.2 The reality of the use of English at work 41

4 3 The importance of English pronunciation learning 43 4.4 The preference for the kind of pronunciation being taught 44 4.5 Exposure to different varieties in terms of pronunciation of

4.11 The suitable kind(s) of English pronunciation for the target

of instruction in the current international context

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL : English as a foreign language EIL : English as an international language ELF : English as a lingua franca

ELT : English language teaching ESL : English as a second language

GA : General American LFC : Lingua Franca Core NNSs : Non-native speakers NSs : Native speakers

RP : Received Pronunciation

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This introductory chapter provides a brief overview of the study It begins with the background of the study, then goes on to rationale together with the aims and research questions of the study This is followed by significance and scope of the study Lastly, the structure of the study is also presented

1.1 Background of the study

In the process of globalization today, English is a language that is used as an international language It is not only used as the official language by many nations

in the world but it is also broadly used in business, politics, economics, education and communications Today, the number of English speakers is more and more increasing because of its position as the leading global language in the world According to The economist (2001), some 380million people speak English as their first language and perhaps two-thirds as many again as their second A billion are learning it, about a third of the world’s population are in some sense exposed to it and by 2050, it is predicted, half the world will be more or less proficient in it It is the language of globalisation-of international business, politics and diplomacy It is

the language of computers and the Internet

The types of spread and the functional allocation of English in diverse cultural contexts (Jenkins, 2003) have been expressed in three circles, subscribing to Kachru’s (1992) models: the Inner circle for countries where English is spoken as a native language, the Outer circle for countries where English is spoken as a second language and the Expanding circle for countries where English is spoken as a foreign language (Kang, 2015) Among them, the Expanding circle includes countries that represent the largest expanding numbers of English speakers in the world today (Crystal, 2003) Obviously, English has been using as a means of communication mainly between non-native speakers (NNSs) According to Kirkpatrick (2007), the number of NNSs has significantly outnumbered that of native speakers (NSs) More specifically, only one out of every four users of

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English in the world is a native speaker of English (Crystal, 2003; as cited in Ton

Nu Nhu Huong & Pham Hoa Hiep, 2010), and the vast majority of communication

in English does not involve any NSs of the language (Graddol, 1997; as cited in TonNu Nhu Huong & Pham Hoa Hiep, 2010) Accordingly, there is a consensus among many scholars that the ownership of English has changed and more specifically, it no longer belongs just to the Inner circle countries (Kirkpatrick, 2008) It is claimed by Rajagopalan (2004) that English belongs to no particular culture but belongs to everyone who speaks it, i.e., it is nobody’s mother tongue On

a similar note, Widdowson (1994) states that English no longer belongs to NSs, but

to everyone who speaks it Also, “due to the continuing spread of English and the proliferation of the language contacts, a great variety of “Englishes” have emerged, each modifying, in their own way, the canonical version on grammatical, lexical and phonological levels” (Skopintseva, 2015, p 19)

The issue of English varieties has recently come into light in the framework of pronunciation teaching and learning Regarding the aim of pronunciation teaching and learning, two contradictory principles, the nativeness principle and the intelligibility principle have also become a central issue for pronunciation research and pedagogy The nativeness principle maintains that “it is possible and desirable

to achieve native-like pronunciation in a foreign language” (Levis, 2005, p 370) However, several studies have documented the impossible accomplishment of this aim On the other hand, the intelligibility principle posits that “learners simply need

to be understandable” and “communication can be remarkably successful even when speakers have strong and noticeable accents” (Levis, 2005, p 370) In this case, the traditional English language teaching orientation that centers on native-speaker linguistic monocentricity (Kachru, 1992; as cited in Jindapitak & Teo, 2013) has been called for a paradigm shift in order to be more consistent with the current profile of English (Jindapitak & Teo, 2013) Instead, intelligibility has been brought into the center of attention due to several factors such as the development and flourishing of communicative language teaching, the global spread of English

as an international language (EIL) and the coming forth of the notion of World

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Englishes, and the increase in the international communications for business, political and cultural purposes (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) Accordingly, intelligibility is advised to improve rather than perfectly native pronunciation in teaching and learning (Derwing & Munro, 2005)

Pronunciation instruction is of great importance for successful oral communication to take place, however, it very often remains neglected or absent in many language teaching programs even if it is included in the curriculum (Habib, 2013) Pronunciation, in other words, has been discounted in English Language Teaching (ELT) although it is considered as a key to intelligible speech and effective communication in a globalized world (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) More ideas about the importance of teaching pronunciation have been formulated by some scholars, among them is Al-Azzawi &Barany (2015, p 154) who states that

“pronunciation is essential to the completeness of not only oral language development, but also for the skills of listening, reading and writing” Similarly, Lado (1964) emphasizes that English as a foreign language (EFL) pronunciation should be viewed in the same light as the other skills of the English language, such

as grammar, reading, writing, vocabulary and so on since it is a crucial part of communication Hence teaching pronunciation in the classroom should be brought great urgency and the goal in teaching pronunciation is threefold: to enable students

to understand and be understood, to build their confidence when engaged in communication situation, to enable them to monitor their speech based on input from the environment (Goodwin, 2001)

In terms of teaching pronunciation, the issue of the suitable kind of pronunciation for instruction in the context of international communication has been

a controversial and much disputed subject EIL research seems to agree on the idea that learners do not need to strive for standard pronunciation, nor for the values and behaviors of NSs of English (Byram, 1997; as cited in Coskun, 2011) In other words, as stated by Farrell & Martin (2009), the continued use of Inner circle Standard English as the target of instruction in classroom worldwide should be reexamined and may even be somewhat inappropriate in a global context That is to

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say, the traditional goal of pronunciation teaching which enables EFL learners to attain native-like pronunciation of English, either Received Pronunciation (RP) accents of British speakers or General American (GA) accents of American speakers (Moedjito, 2015) has been realized as unreasonable goal of pronunciation teaching in case there is an increase in the amount of communication among NNSs Instead, as noted by Jenkins (2000) & McKay (2002) in pronunciation teaching, the goal is neither to help learners to attain native-like accents nor to promote comfortable intelligibility to NSs, but to ensure mutual intelligibility among NNSs

of English Yet there still exist the favorable attitudes toward the native-like pronunciation among the teachers because of the firm belief for a prestige and legitimate model from the natives

Although there is the emergence of EIL, there still exists the strict adherence and the preference for the native speaker pronunciation models in the classroom by learners Additionally, as pointed out by some researchers (Matsuda, 2003; Sifakis

& Sougari, 2005; Timmis, 2002), the de-emphasis on pronunciation of the nonnatives results from the belief among EFL learners that English pronunciation of British and American is the most appropriate one for learning and the correct way

of pronouncing or the benchmark of perfection Particularly, as stated by Nakazawa (2012), university level students feel anxious and afraid of making mistakes while pronouncing the words, and they mostly confess that they get embarrassed when speaking because of the possibility of making mistakes in pronunciation In this vein, Jenkins (2000) who raises the objection against this misconception of learners states that there is no justification for insisting on calling an item as an error of the vast majority of the English speakers in the world produce and understand an error Besides, some survey findings also reveal that local students have a negative attitude towards the existence of the local English pronunciation as a variety and its adoption as a teaching and learning model Furthermore, there is the insufficient instruction from teachers about the existence of other varieties of English in terms

of pronunciation in the classroom, hence, some breakdowns, as well as misunderstandings in communication, often happen in the context of much

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international communication in the real life setting because the majority of learners

do not have chance to familiarize with pronunciation models of the nonnatives Therefore, intentional and appropriate instruction will help learners to overcome some obstacles and anxieties in oral communication

1.2 Rationale for the study

A considerable amount of literature has been published on setting a realistic goal for pronunciation teaching and learning In this vein, the choice of a suitable pronunciation model for specific sociolinguistic contexts has been most controversial in ELT (Trudgill, 1999; Ferguson, 2006; as cited in Chan, 2013) Especially, in the Asian context, the choice of a pedagogical model is still controversial due largely to the question of local acceptance among the general public and other major stakeholders such as educators, professionals and government officials (Chan & Evans, 2011).Therefore, in order to make a right decision about this issue, consideration of the context of teaching and learning as well as the communicative needs of learners should be carried out

In this study, the subjects are EFL students who are pursuing the learning programs for the purpose of working with NNSs after their graduation More specifically, in the context of international communication, the majority of English interactions are primarily made by EFL students with NNSs, particularly people from Chinese, Korean, etc Therefore, it is important to examine the awareness among these students of their interlocutors in the future as well as of the varieties of English in terms of pronunciation Concurrently, there is an urgent need to explore students’ perceptions of their practical purpose for learning English pronunciation and then consider whether there is a need for them to follow strict native-like models in pronunciation when their main interactions occur with NNSs

In addition, as stated by Ren (2014, p 211), “the aim to learn English, for users in the Expanding Circle, is not native-speaker-like mastery but the ability to use English in real communication” With the widespread practice of Communicative language teaching (CLT), this should also be the main purpose of

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learning English of these learners in the study Moreover, intelligible pronunciation was identified as a vital constituent of communicative competence which lodges at the heart of CLT (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) Thus a much-debated question is whether intelligible pronunciation can be their aim in their pronunciation learning

Considering the context of the study, the old-fashioned approach in pronunciation learning needs changing to a more suitable one in accordance with global trend and learners’ needs Therefore, an understanding of students’ perceptions, preferences as well as awareness of learning English pronunciation in the context of international communication will help teachers and administrators to make the appropriate adjustments in adopting the pronunciation models for teaching and learning which are suitable to students’ communicative needs along with the context of the study For those reasons above, the topic of my dissertation will be

“An investigation into students’ English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University”

1.3 The aims and research questions of the study

The main aim of this study is to examine English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University from students’ perspective More specifically, it intends to investigate the reality of English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University and examine students’ perceptions of pronunciation learning as well as of intelligible pronunciation as the target of learning Besides, this research raises issues about the appropriateness of native-like and intelligible pronunciation model in the classroom

in the context of the study It then gives some implications for English language teaching and learning and some recommendations for practice in the future

This research is conducted with the aims to look for the answers for three following questions:

1 What is the reality of pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University?

2 What are students’ perceptions of pronunciation learning?

3 What are students’ perceptions of intelligible pronunciation as the target of learning?

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1.4 Significance of the study

Several investigations as well as recommendations have been conducted in the field of pronunciation teaching and learning in the context of global English and of the emergence of so many variations of English so far In this vein, a comprehensive account of studies on attitudes, perceptions, preferences as well as expectations toward pronunciation models for teaching and learning has been made with different subjects at different settings However, there has been no exact answer for the most suitable model and aim for pronunciation teaching and learning for all contexts Therefore, this study aims to contribute to this growing area of research by hearing the voice of EFL students in order to make any decision about which pronunciation models to follow and which targets to aim at

Additionally, the present study confirms previous findings and contributes additional evidence that suggests eliminating the native-like pronunciation from the only goal in the classroom and taking intelligible pronunciation as a more appropriate aim for instruction in the setting of many interactions among NNSs In addition, this study also supports the idea of many scholars that it is necessary to raise learners’ awareness of the existence of different varieties of English in terms

of pronunciation as well as familiarize them with the different varieties of English

in terms of pronunciation in the classroom

Also, the findings of this research make an important contribution to research

on pronunciation teaching and learning by Vietnamese researchers In this regard, the detailed analysis of the perspectives in pronunciation learning of participants in the study has offered some important insights into the mistaken views of standard pronunciation model of the natives In addition, the consideration of the practical purpose and of the specific context of the study sheds new light on the adoption of a more appropriate goal for pronunciation learning of Vietnamese students in the study Furthermore, through the results of this study, it is hoped that teachers, as well

as administrators, will have a more realistic view of pronunciation teaching in the classroom Besides, this research sets out with an expectation that many necessary

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adjustments will be made in the classroom in an attempt to help students have the greater awareness of the status and functions of English in the world today and then set a suitable aim in pronunciation learning in particular as well as English learning

in general to best fit their purposes of English use in the future

1.5 Scope of the study

This study adopts qualitative and quantitative research designs to investigate students’ English pronunciation learning at Ha Tinh University The scope of the study is limited with students in the learning context at Ha Tinh University for the purpose of working in Ha Tinh province after graduation

This study is conducted in the context of Ha Tinh province in which many foreign companies with large-scale projects from many East Asian countries are operating Vung Ang port of Ha Tinh province is considered as the central place for many investments from enterprises of China, Korea, etc Thus, there is a considerable need for skilled employees in their professional knowledge along with the ability to use a foreign language to communicate and work in an international environment

Also, this study is implemented with 70 non-English-majored students with five different majors at Ha Tinh University, namely Construction Engineer, Automatic and Control Engineering Technology, Manufacturing Technology, Mechanical Engineering and Information Technology They are among many students at Ha Tinh University who are pursuing different majors for the purpose of working at Vung Ang port after graduation In this study, 25 freshmen and 45 sophomores participate in the survey research and interviews In addition, English is considered as a foreign language in their curriculum and the aim for teaching and learning English is to effectively communicate with NNSs in the workplace Furthermore, pronunciation teaching in the classroom is not separated but incorporated with other skills such as reading, speaking and listening The researcher of the study is not the teacher who has direct instruction to these students; therefore, many objective opinions have been received from participants

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1.6 Structure of the thesis

The overall structure of the study takes the form of five chapters, including introduction, literature review, methodology, findings and discussion, and conclusions and implications

Chapter One provides a brief introduction to the background as well as the rationale for the study The aims and research questions are also included and then followed by the significance of the study Lastly, the scope of the research is presented

Chapter Two presents the theoretical framework related to the research In addition, in this chapter, a review of the previous studies in relation to perceptions

of learners about English pronunciation learning is also provided

Chapter Three is concerned with the methodology used for this study Specifically, research approaches, the context, and participants are presented Also, the design and implementation of questionnaire and interview which is followed by the data analysis instrument are provided

Chapter Four presents the findings of the research, focusing on the three key themes that investigate the reality of pronunciation learning, students’ perceptions

of pronunciation learning and of intelligible pronunciation as the target of learning Also, the discussion about the adoption of native-like pronunciation and intelligible pronunciation is also provided

Chapter Five gives some brief summaries as well as some implications drawn out from the results of the study Besides, some limitations and suggestions for further study are offered

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CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction

This chapter is divided into three main sections for the purpose of introducing

a theoretical framework to support for my research First, the background of pronunciation learning is presented with three small sections in order as follows: definition of pronunciation, the development and current trend of pronunciation teaching and learning in ELT, teaching and learning pronunciation in Vietnam Then some background information about varieties of English in terms of pronunciation such as three circles of English, nativeness principle, and intelligibility principle, and intelligibility and Lingua Franca Core are provided respectively in the second section Finally, previous studies related to the research are reviewed in the last section

2.2 Background of pronunciation learning

Second, according to Nunan (2003; as cited in Al-Azzawi & Barany, 2015), pronunciation is the way certain sounds are pronounced that speakers of a language make while speaking and perceived by the hearer to be able to understand each other with relative ease It is a filter through which others see learners and discriminates against them (Goodwin, 2001; Rahimi, 2008; as cited in Al-Azzawi & Barany, 2015)

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In addition, for Gilakjani (2012, p 96), “pronunciation is a set of habits of producing sounds” which is acquired by repeating it over and over again and by being corrected when it is pronounced wrongly Also, in a more broad viewpoint of Gilakjani (2012), pronunciation refers to the combination of the production of sounds that we use to make meaning which includes attention to the particular sounds of a language (segments), aspects of speech beyond the level of the individual sound, such as intonation, phrasing, stress, timing, rhythm (suprasegmental aspects), how the voice is projected (voice quality), and even attention to gestures and expressions that are closely related to the way we speak a language Traditional approaches to pronunciation have often focused on segmental aspects, largely because these relate in some way to letters in writing, and are therefore the easiest to notice and work on (Gilakjani, 2012) More recent approaches to pronunciation have suggested focusing on suprasegmental aspects because of their effect on intelligibility Harmer (1993) stresses the need for making sure that students can always be understood and say what they want to say They need to master “good pronunciation”, not perfect accents That is, emphasis should

be on suprasegmental features of pronunciation-notsegmentalaspects-to help learners acquire communicative competence (Seferoglu, 2005) Bott (2005; as cited

in Gilakjani, 2012) asserts, in recent years, increasing attention has been placed on providing pronunciation instruction that meets the communicative needs of NNSs of English Empirical research and pronunciation materials’ writers suggest that teaching suprasegmentals before segmentals to intermediate and advanced NNSs could be more beneficial in a shorter period of time

It is necessary here to clarify the term accent in relation to pronunciation

According to Hickey (2014) in the book entitled A dictionary of varieties of

English, accent is a reference to pronunciation, that is the collection of phonetic

features which allow speakers to be identified regionally and/ or socially Language cannot be spoken without pronouncing it, thus everybody has an accent (Andersson

& Trudgill, 1990) Additionally, it is realized by Scheuer (2005) that having a foreign accent does not automatically make anybody's speech unintelligible, while

2.2.2 The development and current trend of pronunciation teaching and learning in English Language Teaching

Pronunciation has undergone many times of ELT with the changes in its position It has been either elevated to the highest stature by some methods and approaches, such as the Reform Movement, Audio-Lingual method, and Oral Approach, or has been assigned the back seat in the language classroom, as has been the case with Grammar-Translation Method, the Direct method, and the naturalist approaches (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015)

From the 1840s to the 1940s, with the dominance of Grammar-Translation Method, the primary skills to be developed were reading and writing and, consequently, grammar and vocabulary were emphasized Speaking and listening were neglected and pronunciation received virtually no attention (Larsen-Freeman, 2000) This method was severely challenged and, ultimately, rejected due to factors such as an increasing demand for practical competence in foreign languages; the need for oral proficiency in the target language could not be met through the use of that method (Howatt, 1984)

In the 1940s and 1950s, pronunciation is in the forefront of the instructional agenda in the language classroom with the popularity of the Audiolingual Method

in the United States and Oral Approach and Situational Language teaching in Britain (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) In this period, “accuracy was supported rather than fluency and the target sound system was practiced through pattern drills, mimicry, repetition, and the elimination of aberrant native language influences”(Ketabi & Saeb, 2015, p 183) for the purpose of native-like pronunciation achievement

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In the next decades of the 1960s and 1970s, pronunciation lost its favor with the appearance of the Cognitive Approach and the comprehension-based approaches such as the Natural Approach, the Total Physical Response, and Suggestopedia During these two decades, serious questions were raised by a number of researchers about the effectiveness of pronunciation teaching and whether anytime should be devoted treating pronunciation in language classes (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) Some research findings signified the uselessness of pronunciation instruction and proposed that little relationship exists between teaching pronunciation in the classroom and attained proficiency in pronunciation (Suter, 1976; Suter & Purcell, 1980; as cited in Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) In this period, some also speculated that native-like pronunciation was unattainable in a second language (Preston, 1981; as cited in Gilakjani, 2012)

The arrival of the Communicative Language Teaching in the late 1970s did not also bring pronunciation back its position Early CLT in the 1980s discounted pronunciation regarding it as a difficult feature, based on the assumption that teaching pronunciation would interfere communicative practice, and would be harmful to the students’ self-confidence (Habib, 2013) Also, the focus on accuracy was replaced with an emphasis on fluency which led to the pronunciation being downplayed as teachers believed that the meaningless drills were not consistent with a communicative philosophy of language (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015).Consequently, pronunciation instruction was reduced or eliminated in many language programs

As communicative approach flourished into its full bloom in the 1980s resulting in an appreciation of pronunciation teaching and its importance among scholars and practitioners (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) In this vein, the Communicative Approach held that oral communication was the primary use of language and therefore should be central to the mode of instruction (Hismanoglu, 2006) The early 1980s witnessed a significant increase in the number of journal articles, reference books and materials dealing with pronunciation (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015)

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During the mid-1980s, there was an increased awareness of the critical role of pronunciation in communication and the revised professional engagement in teaching it (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) It was indicated by Morley (1991, p 489) that

“intelligible pronunciation is an essential component of communicative competence” and “ignoring students’ pronunciation needs is an abrogation of professional responsibility”

In the 1990s and the New Millennium, pronunciation did not decline in importance with the evidence that the last three decades have seen a growing trend towards pronunciation research as well as the publication of some prestigious journals in applied linguistics Among the most prominent issues and debates about pronunciation discussed and researched in this period are the intelligibility versus nativeness debate, segmentals/suprasegmentals controversy, and Jenkins’ (2000) idea of Lingua Franca Core” (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015)

Accordingly, two conflicting principles: the nativeness principle and the intelligibility principle have been a major area of interest within the field of pronunciation teaching and learning The nativeness principle maintains that pronunciation teaching should draw learners on attaining native-like pronunciation

of English, namely RP of British speakers or GA of American speakers However, this aim of pronunciation was considered as an unreasonable expectation of the learners due to the existence of a critical period for learning pronunciation before adulthood, a hypothesis which proposed that the ability to acquire native-like pronunciation is biologically linked to age (Leneberg, 1967) In contrast, intelligibility principle is regarded as a more realistic aim for pronunciation pedagogy with the increase in international and intercultural communication To put

it another way, “as more and more people have come to use English as a means of wider communication across cultures, the focus of pronunciation teaching has shifted from how learners can attain native-like pronunciation to how learners can transact information effectively in oral communication” (Moedjito, 2015, p 156) For that reason, intelligibility was brought into the center of goal in pronunciation

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instruction Indeed, pronunciation instruction has changed into focusing on a down approach and emphasizing fluency, with a major focus on practicing suprasegmental features, such as stress, intonation and rhythm instead of traditional bottom-up approaches concentrating on accuracy achieved through practicing individual sounds (Goodwin, 2001; Jones, 2002; as cited in Wach, 2012) Castillo (1991; as cited in Hismanoglu, 2006) who also mentions to this move from specific linguistic competences to a broader communicative competencies writes that within the field of pronunciation teaching, the need for the integration of pronunciation with oral communication, a change of emphasis from segmentals to suprasegmentals, more emphasis on individual learner needs, meaningful task-based practices, development of new teacher strategies for the teaching and introducing peer correction and group interaction were emphasized

top-Also, in the 1990s, the debate about segmentals and suprasegmentals gained fresh dominance with many arguing of the superiority of the contributive factor in intelligibility From the early years of the new millennium, there seemed to have a consensus among researchers that the impairment of intelligibility can be associated with both segmental and suprasegmental features (Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) At this point, pronunciation specialists were more concerned with what features to teach learners in a way to enable them to communicate most effectively, rather than to teach segmental or suprasegmental features (Couper, 2008; Levis, 2005; Moghaddam et al., 2012; Zeilinski, 2006; as cited in Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) Consequently, Jenkins (2000) introduces the Lingua Franca Core (LFC) which includes the features of English pronunciation which will make speakers from different first language backgrounds more intelligible to one another (Setter, 2006) Although some debates continue about the idea of LFC, it is identified by Matsumoto (2011) that LFC has the advantages in promoting negotiation among learners and providing a basis for an effective pronunciation syllabus Sharing the same idea, Wach (2012) claims that proponents of LFC emphasize its concern for intelligibility, its value for international communication, and its learnability

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In the 21st century, pronunciation has come of age and is unlikely to remain on the margins of language teaching as it did for much of the final part of the twentieth (Jenkins, 2004) In this vein, the call for pronunciation teaching and the integration

of pronunciation with other language skills such as speaking and listening has been made by teachers and educators However, the current stature of pronunciation does not still correspond its importance and it seems not to be receiving due attention from teachers and practitioners in many language programs compared to other language skills and subskills (Kang, 2014; Murphy, 2014; as cited in Ketabi & Saeb, 2015) Besides, there has been a broad consensus among researchers on the primacy of intelligibility as the goal for pronunciation teaching, a balanced view of the importance of segmental and suprasegmental features in attaining intelligibility, and the need for a communicative instructional framework for teaching pronunciation

With the emergence of globalization, when students are learning English so that they can use it in international contexts with other NNSs from different first languages, they should be given the choice of acquiring a pronunciation that is more relevant to intelligibility than traditional pronunciation syllabuses offer (Coskun, 2010) However, unlike the expectation in changing the deep-seated belief of almost teachers and learners, there are still strong preferences for native-like pronunciation models and little acknowledgment for non-native models in pronunciation teaching and learning (He & Zhang, 2010; Kopperoinen, 2011; Wach, 2012) In addition, textbooks and resources for teaching pronunciation continue to massively represent minority prestigious accents such as the British RP or GA (Deterding, 2005; Levis, 2005) Hence, it will be one of the disadvantages for learners to understand speakers from non-native countries in real situations when most of the teachers only introduce their students British or American pronunciation in the classroom Besides, currently existing instructional materials on pronunciation do not fit the bill in terms of providing authentic, context-rich activities that provide focused practice for the specific area of pronunciation to be targeted, nor do they always

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draw on research evidence (Gilakjani, 2012) Therefore, there still exists the hesitation among the teachers in the integration of pronunciation in teaching

2.2.3 Teaching and learning pronunciation in Vietnam

Vietnam has a long history of foreign language teaching and learning (Ton Nu Nhu Huong & Pham Hoa Hiep, 2010) In other words, as cited by Phan Le Ha (2005), Vietnam has witnessed the rise and fall of a number of dominant foreign languages in its own territory Chinese, French, and Russian respectively had one enjoyed dominant foreign language status in Vietnam, but English has replaced Russian since the early 1990s after the Vietnamese government introduced the open-door policy in 1986 Also, Vietnam, a country which belongs to the expanding circle where English is not spoken as the mother tongue (Kachru, 1982), has had a lot of considerable changes in the practices of teaching and learning English since it launched “Doi Moi” policy in 1986 and became the member of ASEAN in 1995 as well as participated in WTO in 2006

Catching up with the increasing trend in learning English in the whole world, from the 1980s until now, English has been used as a dominant foreign language in Vietnam with the role as a compulsory subject in the school and “a gatekeeper to educational and employment opportunities” (Pham Hoa Hiep, 2006, p 27) In the first place, according to the Ministry of Education and Training in Vietnam (MOET) statistics (2006), 67% of students in lower secondary schools and 86% in upper secondary school study English for at least three hours a week In addition, all tertiary students are required to study a foreign language, regardless of their major (TonNu Nhu Huong & Pham Hoa Hiep, 2010) Particularly, university students are now required to take foreign languages for their graduation exams and many universities require students of all majors to take a foreign language at the entrance exams (Do Huy Thinh, 1999) Secondly, the government now officially requires all government workers at all levels to attain certain levels of English proficiency in response to the new situation (Tran Thi Lan, 2000) What is more, almost all jobs require a certificate in English, and even work promotion now starts considering

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English proficiency as criterion (Nunan, 2003) On top of that, according to Pham Hoa Hiep (2006), among many countries in Asia, Vietnam is an example of people who have unequal access to opportunities for employment and further education abroad due to differences in their English language skills; hence learning English is considered not only as “a “fashion” but also a “passport” for people to travel, earn scholarships, get better jobs, and so on” (Tran Thi Lan, 2000, p 27) in the 21stcentury

As a matter of fact, with the expansion of international communication along with more foreign investment attractions and foreign-invested project implementation from countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and the USA, the desire for learning English for the purpose of facilitating communication of Vietnamese is stronger At present, most of the Vietnamese people have had a full awareness about the importance of knowing this foreign language; therefore, they are actively taking part in English courses at foreign language centers together with foreign language schools It is broadly agreed that the prime target of learning English of most of the Vietnamese students at this time is to be able to use English

to effectively communicate Accordingly, this results in the urgent necessity in learning pronunciation in order to establish successful oral communication Additionally, without good pronunciation, one cannot convey the original intention

of speakers or sometimes cause some fundamental misunderstandings; hence the breakdown in communication is unavoidable In that case, there have been many pronunciation practicing courses offered with an aim to help learners use English confidently in communication with their colleagues, their partners or foreigners so far However, many students still feel insecure when talking to others, especially foreigners in English because they hold the belief that their pronunciation is not correct and “standard” like American or Briton In line with this, there also appear many teaching programs at foreign centers plus websites on the Internet in the hope that learners will be able to achieve standard English pronunciation such as American English or British English However, many scholars hold the view that it

is difficult or even impossible for NNSs like Vietnamese to attain native-like

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pronunciation which is not only an unrealistic expectation but also unfair and inappropriate (Kirkpatrick, 2007) Accordingly, the aim to learn English in the most contemporary use of ELF today is the ability to use English in real communication instead (Ren, 2014) Because of this, there is a need to reexamine learners’ perspectives about learning the kind of pronunciation which is suitable for their needs as well as their attainable possibilities

Also, there is the increasing realization that poor pronunciation can cause serious problems for learners, such as communication breakdowns, anxiety, and discrimination (Moreley, 1998 as cited in Gilakjani, 2012) Hence, more and more teachers have put great emphasis on pronunciation teaching in the classroom Nevertheless, English pronunciation is still neglected or ignored because not many English pronunciation teaching strategies or techniques are available to teachers in the classroom (Wei, 2006; as cited in Gilakjani, 2012) Besides, the majority of the current textbooks only introduce British English and American English and two of which are considered as the only models for practicing pronunciation among teachers and learners at schools

With the emergence of globalization, there have been many perspectives of pronunciation teaching and learning Accordingly, the pronunciation of the natives has been deemphasized in the field of ELT and the concept of intelligibility has been highlighted over attaining a native-like accent instead (Crystal, 2003; Jenkins,

2000, 2006; as cited in Monfared & Safarzadeh, 2014) This view is supported by Gagliardi & Maley (2010, p 212) who writes that

Traditionally, the aim of pronunciation teaching was the eradication of any trace of foreign accent, and British or American English was considered the model to imitate Today, in a world characterized by an infinite number of English accents, promoting a perfect English accent appears unsustainable Intelligibility appears as a more appropriate target of pronunciation instruction, and British and American English are not considered the only English language models which should be used in class

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Moreover, there are still many learners who hold that in order to speak good English one should totally get rid of an L1 accent (Skopintseva, 2015) This has been rejected by Coskun (2010) who claims that a foreign accent should be perceived as only a regional variety and it should be respected as far as intelligibility is maintained On top of that, Cook (1999, p 196) underlines that those who claims that learners following native-speaker models are no different from people who want to change the color of their skin, the straightness of their hair, or the shape of their eyes to conform to other groups Actually, it is difficult and even impossible for learners who do not have English as their mother tongue to pursue native-like pronunciation models because of the discrepancies in their accents, rhyme, intonation, etc as well as little exposure to real interactions to the natives Hence, in setting goals for pronunciation teaching, one needs to take into account several factors, such as the context in which instruction takes place, the reasons for teaching English, the communicative needs of the learners, and the learners’ motivations and aspirations (Wells, 2005)

2.3 Varieties of English in terms of pronunciation

2.3.1 Three circles of English

There is a growth in the number of NNSs in the world, thus it has led to the

emergence of so many different varieties of English The term World Englishes

which is the norm that includes all varieties of the language is no longer new to many researchers as well as scholars A number of models for describing the spread

of English around the global have been put forward over the last decades, but by far

the most influential has been the one devised by Braj Kachru and known as Three

circles of English (Seargeant, 2012) These circles are clarified by Seargeant (2012)

as follows:

The Inner circle of English-speaking countries is composed of those places where the language is the mother tongue for the vast majority of the population and where it operates as the default language for almost all domains of society This circle comprises not only the UK but also those countries colonized by the British

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where English displaced indigenous languages and is now firmly embedded as the majority language It includes, therefore, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc Kachru explains that these countries are what he calls “norm-providing” in that the English here operates as the model for the type of English that is taught around the world In other words, when people learn EFL in a country such as China, they are likely to look to standard British or standard American English as an appropriate model to which to aspire

The Outer circle comprises countries in which the current status of English is the result of colonization, but with the difference that in these countries the language did not display the indigenous languages, but instead was used alongside them for certain specific roles These then are the English as second language (ESL) countries, where English is not the first language for the majority of people but is rather an additional language used in institutional contexts such as bureaucracy and education Kachru calls these countries “norm-developing” in that the varieties of English spoken here are now securely rooted in the culture-they are indigenizedvarieties-and yet they do not yet have the same status as English as a native language varieties As he explains, “in the Outer circle the varieties of English have their own local histories, literary traditions, pragmatic contexts, and communicative norms” (Kachru, 1992, p 359)

Finally, it is the Expanding circle, which refers to the rest of the world In these countries, English is predominantly viewed and taught as a foreign language These countries have no significant number of first or second language speakers, and as such they are “norm-dependent”- that is to say, they do not have the base of first-language speakers which would allow them to develop their own norms, and so they follow a UK or US standard English as their model They are traditionally EFL countries, in that the education system assumes that English is taught for purposes such as tourism or to read foreign literature

According to statistics from Crystal (2003), the number of English speakers from the Expanding circle is the highest with 500-1000 million, followed by the

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Inner circle with 320-380 million, and the Outer Circle with 300-500 million It is clearly shown that there is a considerable increase in the number of speakers in those countries using EFL and this leads to the fact that the vast majority of interactions in the world happen among NNSs, not among NSs Therefore, there exist “multilinguistic identities, multiplicity of norms, both endocentric and exocentric, and distinct sociolinguistic histories” (Kachru, 1996, p 135; as cited in Jindapitak & Teo, 2013) as well as result in the birth of many new varieties of English or “world Englishes” which conceptualizes “the function of the language in

diverse pluralistic context” (Kachru, 1997, p 67)

2.3.2 Nativeness principle and intelligibility principle

The nativeness principle holds that “it is both possible and desirable to achieve native-like pronunciation in foreign language” (Levis, 2005, p 370) This principle was the dominant paradigm in pronunciation teaching before the 1960s, but its influence was rapidly diminished by research showing that nativeness in pronunciation appeared to be biologically conditioned to occur before adulthood (Lenneberg, 1967; Scovel, 1995), leading to the logical conclusion that aiming for nativeness was unrealistic burden for both teacher and learner (Levis, 2005) Levis (2005) also adds that despite extensive ongoing research into a critical period for acquiring pronunciation, in practice very few adult learners actually achieve native-like pronunciation in a foreign language Factors such as motivation, amount of first language use, and pronunciation training are positively correlated with more native-like pronunciation, but none of these other factors seems to overcome the effects of age (Flege & Frieda, 1995; Moyer, 1999)

In the light of world Englishes, there have been many ideas from researchers against the nativeness principle which maintain that the goal of English teaching based on native speaker model should be rejected It is agreed by Wang (2012) that the notion of “native speaker” has become obsolete in a modern world where people are often NSs of more than one language, and where linguistic boundaries are no longer clear Moreover, it would be unrealistic and inappropriate to apply the

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uniform native speaker English norms to ELT Similarly, as claimed by Alptekin (2002), Jenkins (2006) and Sedlhofer & Jenkins (2003) (as cited in Wang, 2012), the supremacy of a native speaker model and the strict adherence to native speaker norms should be disregarded, and the notion of a monolithic, unadaptable linguistic medium owned by its original speakers and forever linked to their rules are naive and untenable

Conversely, the intelligibility principle holds that “learners simply need to be understandable” (Levis, 2005, p 370) The intelligibility principle recognizes that communication can be remarkably successful when foreign accents are noticeable

or even strong, that there is no clear correlation between accent and understanding (Munro & Derwing, 1999), and that certain types of pronunciation errors may have

a disproportionate role in impairing comprehensibility (Levis, 2005) Levis (2005) argues that in the intelligibility principle, different features have different effects on understanding and instruction should focus on those features that are more helpful for understanding such as suprasegmentals and should deemphasize those that are relatively unhelpful such as segmentals

Many studies have also been conducted on intelligibility and it is maintained

by many researchers (eg, Jenkin, 2000; McKay, 2002) that the goal in teaching pronunciation is neither to help learners to attain native-like accent nor to promote comfortable intelligibility to native speakers, but to ensure mutual intelligibility among NNSs of English Besides, Coskun (2010) argues that a foreign accent should be perceived as only a regional variety and it should be respected as far as intelligible is maintained Smith and Nelson (2006) raises a similar concern by stating that it is not the case that every user of English is necessarily intelligible to every user of English; our communication in English needs to be intelligible to those with whom we wish to communicate

Besides, Dauer (2005) advocates the idea that teachers, test makers, and the wide public should be more tolerant of a foreign accent by accepting some L1-influenced speech patterns rather than trying to change them, students would feel

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less frustrated and would better serve their students’ needs for intelligible speech Sharing the similar note, Jenkins (2000; as cited in Van den Doel, 2007) states that NNSs are not necessarily motivated by linguistic insecurity; nor does choose a native-like model of English to obliterate speakers’ L1 identities Therefore, to some extent, maintaining L1 identity in communication can be accepted because when people use English, no matter as a local variety or as a lingua franca, they not only use it as a means of communication but also through it to express their identities More importantly, when they communicate in English, they do not simply conform to native English varieties but adapt their English with changes to fit their own purposes (Ren, 2014)

2.3.3 Intelligibility and Lingua France Core

By definition, Kenworthy (1987) sees intelligibility as being understood by a listener at a given time in a given situation Sharing the same idea, Derwing (2010;

as cited in Habib, 2013) defines intelligibility involves the actual understanding of a speech from listeners’ perspective Smith (1992; as cited in Nazari, 2012) thinks that in order to make sense of the term “intelligibility” one needs to draw a clear-cut distinction between intelligibility, comprehensibility, and interpretability; though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably

Intelligibility = word/ utterance recognition

Comprehensibility = word/ utterance meaning

Interpretability = meaning behind word/ utterance

Smith (1987, p 266) also claims that “ the greater the familiarity a speaker (native or non-native) has with a variety of English, the more likely it is that s/he will understand, and be understood by, members of that speech community” He concludes that familiarity is the crucial factor that makes it possible to comprehend speeches that contain different phonological features In particular, in a research of Japanese university students who have limited access to diverse English, Matsuura (2007) comes to the conclusion that the more varieties students are exposed to, the better their understanding of other varieties will become In the same vein, Matsuda

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(2003, p 721) points out: “an awareness of different varieties would help students develop a more comprehensive view of the English language” According to Takagaki (2005), learning about different varieties of English will help learners broaden their knowledge of the language, and they will be better equipped to deal with those varieties Takagaki adds that once students study the topic, they learn that one variety of English is not superior to another variety, and they will develop increased tolerance for speakers of different dialects Additionally, they will have a good understanding of the role of global English and will be aware of important issues such as multilingualism and the functions of English as an international language Therefore, the exposure to many varieties of English as possible is one of prerequisite duties in teaching English in the international context of teachers for the purpose of making learners realize that the English variety included in their books is not the only variety which exists in the world It does not mean that students have to be exposed to all the varieties existing; the aim is just to make the students familiar with the language which they can really encounter in the streets (Crystal, 2010)

By observing non-native learners of English from different language backgrounds in classroom conversations to analyze the causes of problems of comprehension in their use of English, Jenkins (2000) provides a set of phonological features called Lingua Franca Core which is important for intelligibility in communication between NNSs of English The aim of this LFC is

to offer a teachable and learnable pronunciation alternative based on the frequency

of miscommunication and communication breakdown in genuine interactional speech data from educated NNSs of different first languages (Chan, 2013)

1 All the consonants are important except for “th” sounds as in “thin” and “this”

2 Consonant clusters are important at the beginning and in the middle of words For example, the cluster in the word “string” cannot be simplified to “sting” or “tring” and remain intelligible

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3 The contrast between long and short vowels is important For example, the difference between the vowel sounds in “sit” and “seat”

4 Nuclear stress is also essential

Also, Jenkins presents many other pronunciation items that do not seem to cause intelligibility problems in ELF interactions These are:

1 Weak forms such as the words “to”, “of” and “from”

2.4 Previous studies related to the research

Several recent studies investigating attitudes as well as perspectives plus expectations of learners and teachers on teaching and learning pronunciation have been widely carried out by many scholars and researchers over the world Most of the studies show that the preferred pronunciation model in the classroom is one of the natives Besides, many survey research indicate that teachers and learners are aware that they use English more with NNSs than with NSs outside the classroom; however, they continue to adopt the native speaker model in the classroom Furthermore, intelligible pronunciation has received very little acceptance among many EFL students and teachers at many settings

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One of the researches which were conducted on a large scale of participants came from Timmis (2002) The research included 400 learners and 180 NSs and NNSs teachers from different countries with an aim to see whether the learners wanted to conform to NSs pronunciation norms The results found that the majority

of learners (67%) preferred to sound like NSs In contrast, 39% of teachers stated that their students would opt for being intelligible in international interactions rather than sounding native-like, and 27% of them thought the learners would like to reach NSs standards The similar results were obtained in a research of Coskun (2011) in Turkey Coskun (2011) examined future English teachers’ attitudes towards teaching pronunciation within an EIL perspective His research conducted with 47 senior students at the ELT department and revealed that NSs English was regarded

as the correct model in ELT although they were aware of the fact that they spoke English mostly with NNSs Also, the idea of teaching a non-native variety was disregarded by most of the participants and the ideal pronunciation teacher was perceived as a native speaker According to this result, there were prejudices of these students towards the propagation of native speaker norms as the teaching model and they spent little thought on the status of English and its implications in the course of their study It was recommended in this research that ELT should put

on a different track so that students are exposed to different varieties and cultures of the English-speaking people in order to help them be linguistically ready for intercultural communication

Likewise, one more a recent research with a large-scale of participants was conducted by Kang (2015) with the participation of 617 adult ESL and EFL students from university and language institutes from six countries in three circles This research examined perceptions and expectations of their pronunciation and their attitudes toward instructors’ accent varieties in the three circles of World Englishes The findings found that students in the Inner circle and Expanding circle countries, compared to those in the outer circle, were more dissatisfied with their current curriculum of learning pronunciation due to confusion of various models, teachers’ mono-model treatment of accent variation, and lack of effort of

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incorporating the role of English as an international language It is suggested in the study that the concept of World Englishes should be better integrated into ESL/EFL classroom teachings

In Vietnamese context, Ton Nu Nhu Huong & Pham Hoa Hiep (2010) carried out a research with 250 students majoring in English at two universities plus 80 university teachers in central Vietnam (Hue and Da Nang) about Vietnamese teachers’ and students’ perceptions of global English More specifically, their research tried to answer the question that whose English should be the target for instruction in international contexts such as Vietnam The findings revealed that the students and teachers believed students used English more with NNSs than with NSs outside the classroom, but British and American English tended to be the preferred models, at least in the classroom Besides, this research had no clear answer about what kind of English will be useful in Vietnam in the future and suggested focusing on British and American English in the classroom and encouraged learners to explore other varieties of English outside the classroom Another study of Nguyen Quang Tien (2008) which investigated 17 Vietnamese students who were studying in the Philippines into their awareness of varieties of Englishes presented a parallel result It was identified that Vietnamese students’ false perceptions of what is called “standard” English and of the ownership of the English language led them to their preferences for American or British English They were not aware of the importance of the familiarity with the varieties of other Englishes, particularly Asian Englishes when they spoke English to more Asian people than native-speakers of English Moreover, what they understood about intelligibility, standard, ownership, and the like was just based on the only criteria, viz linguistic codes They were not aware of other aspects important for cross-cultural communication such as culture, discourse, pragmatics, and socio-linguistics This research came to a conclusion that there needed to be an appropriate English language program for Asian people, particularly Vietnamese people This would help them successfully and confidently communicate with people

in Vietnamese context so far This study attempts to show Vietnamese students’ views about learning English pronunciation in the context of NNSs-NNSs communication and the aim for learning English is predetermined Thus there is an intermediate need for this study to be conducted in order to investigate students’ awareness as well as understanding about the need of achieving the appropriate aim

in learning pronunciation in the context of international communication It is hoped that this research will make an important contribution to the growing area of research by investigating Vietnamese students’ English pronunciation learning in classrooms

of English as well as intelligibility and Lingua Franca Core in company with the comparison between two contradictory principles, namely nativeness principle and intelligibility principle Previous studies related to the research have been presented with an aim to be a foundation for the researcher to conduct the research